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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6O-03865

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2024
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve public consultation on renewable energy projects by energy companies.

Question reference: S6W-30452

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21204 by Tom Arthur on 22 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on any action that it has taken to encourage more local authorities to consider and utilise their existing powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce non-domestic rates.

Question reference: S6W-30450

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21202 by Tom Arthur on 22 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on how much revenue raised by the business rates incentivisation scheme was retained by each local authority in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

The business rates incentivisation scheme (BRIS) was suspended in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 due to the disruptive impact of COVID on NDR revenues, as confirmed in Local government finance circular 8/2021: business rates incentivisation scheme 2019-2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)there was therefore no revenue retained by any council in 2022-23, retentions generally affecting the following year’s non-domestic rates income.

Non-domestic rates incentivisation scheme (NDRIS, formerly BRIS) retention amounts relating to 2023-24 will be made available at the earliest opportunity, these amounts will be reported in councils provisional NDR outturn returns following the end of the current financial year.

Local government finance circular 1/2024: Non Domestic Rates Incentivisation Scheme 2023 to 2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) details final NDRIS targets for 2023-24 and provisional targets for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-30453

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21203 by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023, whether it will provide details of which local authorities it anticipates will use or are considering using their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-30449

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 04 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21203 by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023, whether it will provide an update on which local authorities have used or are seeking to use their powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to reduce business rates in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Local authorities are independent bodies, and it is for them to consider whether to use the powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to deliver local reliefs. The Scottish Government includes information on these powers in its Local government finance circular 5/2024: non-domestic rates relief guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) issued to local authorities annually.

There were no awards of local relief in 2022-23.

Empty Property Relief was devolved to local authorities since 1 April 2023 and councils can now deliver relief for empty properties via the powers under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. As at 1 July 2023, all councils had awarded local Empty Property Reliefs to an estimated 17,000 properties, worth a total of £81 million in 2023-24.

Green Freeport relief is available for properties within the tax sites of Green Freeports in Scotland from the date of tax site designation, which was in 2024-25 for both Green Freeports. Local authorities will deliver this relief under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 powers and will be reimbursed by Scottish Government for any awards of this relief.

Question reference: S6W-30535

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29982 by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024, whether it will provide details of how it is progressing with rolling out the Family Nurse Partnership programme in (a) island NHS boards and (b) the rest of the NHS Highland area.

The Scottish Government has been working with NHS boards to carefully scale up the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme across Scotland, ensuring implementation models are sustainable and delivered with quality.

Under this phased rollout of the programme (a) FNP is not yet offered in Island Boards and (b) we are still in the process of scaling up across NHS Highland areas, noting we began delivering the programme in Argyll and Bute earlier this year.

We want to ensure every eligible mother can access this support, that is why we are testing a number of options to support delivery in remote and rural contexts. The learning will be used to build a sustainable model that could expand the FNP programme to these areas in the future.

Question reference: S6W-30233

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) speed up and (b) expand treatment for people experiencing migraines.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the availability of medicines that patients in Scotland need.

A national headache pathway was launched in October 2023 by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery at NHS Golden Jubilee. This is to aid clinicians in the diagnosis and management of headache disorders, including migraine, and offers guidance on management of conditions.

Through the Neurological Care & Support Framework, the Scottish Government awarded £221,176 in total to the Migraine Trust across 2022-24, to work with community, primary and secondary care pharmacists In NHS Grampian to help people with migraine manage their symptoms and treatments more effectively.

Through the success of this project, a further seven NHS Boards are working towards adopting this model of care in future.

In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly licensed medicines, following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer. Where the SMC accepts a medicine, or accepts it with restrictions or on an interim basis, there is an expectation that NHS Boards will consider the medicine and make it (or its equivalent) available. This is considered by each NHS Boards’ Area Drug and Therapeutics Committee.

NHS Boards are expected to reach a decision within 90 days of being informed of the SMC advice, which provides time to consider any issues associated with the implementation of the medicine, such as changes to the care pathway and staff training. Boards should publish their decision on their website within 14 days of the decision.

The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level.

Question reference: S6W-30241

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates since 2022 the Pain Management Task Force has discussed migraine-related issues, and what the outcomes were of any such discussions.

The Pain Management Task Force oversees the implementation of the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery in Scotland. Discussions at the Task Force are centred around delivery of the actions in the Implementation Plan rather than condition specific issues. While there have been no specific discussions on migraine-related issues at the Task Force, many of the actions in the Plan discussed at each Task Force meeting will benefit people with migraine, such as updated quality prescribing guidelines and the creation of a chronic pain Knowledge Hub, a resource available to all NHS Scotland staff and third sector organisations to deepen their understanding of chronic pain.

Question reference: S6W-30234

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide specialist training for (a) GPs and (b) pharmacists on the treatment of people experiencing migraines.

a) A national headache pathway was launched in October 2023 by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery at NHS Golden Jubilee. This pathway aids clinicians, including GPs, in the diagnosis and management of headache disorders, including migraine. The pathway specifically includes guidance for the treatment of migraine in primary care.

b) Through the Neurological Care & Support Framework, the Scottish Government provided £221,176 in total to the Migraine Trust across 2022-24, to work with community, primary and secondary care pharmacists to help people with migraine manage their symptoms and treatments more effectively. The work has been undertaken in NHS Grampian, and is being expanded into further NHS Boards who are working towards adopting this model of care.

Through this work an eLearning programme and resource page has been developed on NHS Education for Scotland’s platform TURAS. This comprises a suite of training materials available for all pharmacists and pharmacy teams to access.

Question reference: S6W-30240

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have reported experiencing migraine in each year since 2021, broken down by NHS board.